Signal for vehicles.



0. MENRAD & A. E. WITTIG.

SIGNAL FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1914..

1,1Q4,49?, Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

UNITE STATE PATENT @FTHTQ.

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. which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signals of the type adapted to be mounted upon an automobile, or other road-vehicle, for the purpose of indicating, to the driver of another vehicle, the direction in which the user of the signal intends to turn. In signals for the purpose in question it has been proposed to employ a pair of devices in the nature of semaphores, arranged at opposite sides of a vehicle, and connected with manually-operable means'bywhich they may be thrown alternately into operative position to indicate the direction in which the vehicle is about to turn. The present invention relates to such an arrangement, and the object of the invention is to provide simple and reliable manually-operable mechanism for controlling the movements of the semaphore's, and particularly to embody in such mechanism simple and efi'ective means for locking each semaphore in inoperative position when it is not tobe used. To the foregoing. end the invention comprises mechanism in which a locking-lever is associated with an actuating-lever, and the two are conjointly operated by a rod or other manually-operable means, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a rear-elevation of the cowl or dash of an automobile provided with signal-apparatus embodying the present invention; Fig.

' 2 is a detail-view, on a larger scale, of one of the bell-crank levers and the locking-device associated therewith; Fig. 3 is a righthand side-elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section, on the line H in Fig. 1 but on a larger scale than the latter figure. V v,

The means bywhich the visible indication is afforded, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, are two members 10 which operate in the manner of semaphores, and

which may be shaped in any convenient manner, being illustrated as having the form of a conventional pointing hand. They are preferably colored in a manner to render Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed January 23, 191

PatentedJan. 12, 1315. Serial No. 813,975.

them conspicuous.

Each semaphore is'fixed to the forward end of a short rock-shaft 11.,

which passes through, and is journaled tin,

the cowl or dash 12 of the vehicle upon which the signal is to be used. These rockshafts are located near the sides of the dash, but farenough in so that when. the semaphores'are depending directly from the rockshafts they are hidden from the rear, as shown at the right of Fig. 1.

As a convenient means for operating the two semaphores alternatively, we have illustrated a swinging lever 13, which is pivoted, at its upper end, upon a base-plate 14 screwed to the dash of the vehicle, the lower end of'the lever 13 being bent rearwardly so that it may be conveniently swung in either direction by either the 'foot or the hand of the user. To connect the lever 13 withthe semaphores, we employ the following mechanism: Each rock-shaft 11 is provided, at its inner end, with an arm 15,

, which is connected, by a link 16, with one arm 17 of the bell-crank lever. The other arm 18. of the lever is connected with the lever 13 by means of a rod 19, which slides through an elongated opening 20 in the arm 18.

The rod 19 cooperates with the bell-crank lever through the locking mechanism hereinbefore referred to. This mechanism comprises a lever 21, pivoted at 22 upon a lug projecting from the arm 18. The upper end of the locking-lever 21 has a tooth 23, which cooperates with a notch 24 in the hub of the bell-crank lever, and with a notch 25 in the boss 26 upon which the bell-crank lever is- V pivoted, this boss being fixed to the dash of the vehicle, as shown in Fig. 1. The locking-lever 21 is, also provided with an elongated slot through which the rod 19'slides,

and in thenormal position of the parts, as shown at the right of Fig. 1, the tooth 23 is in engagement with both of the notches 246 and 25, thus locking the parts in the position in which the semaphore hangs in inoperative moved into engagement with the lockin -1e ver 21, so as to swing the lever out. of operative position upon the arm 18, and thus disengage the tooth 23 from the notch 25. Thereupon the bell-crank lever is free to move and the continued movement of the 'rod 19 swingsithe leverto the position of "employed to retain the lever 13 in its normal centre position.

The rods 19 are made adjustable in order to adapt the signal device. readily to the vehicle upon which it is to be used, and for this purpose they are connected to the lever 13 through ayoke-sh'aped member 3L into the ends of "which the two rods are screwed, the rodsbeing locked against accidental rotation by lock-nuts32. The yoke 31 is perfo'rated to receive a pin 33 projecting from I Witnesses:

. mamas? the lever 13, by which the parts are pivotally connected together.

Our invention is not limited to the embodiment thereof hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it may be embodied in various other forms, Within the nature of the invention as it is defined in the following claim.

We claim A vehicle-signal having, in combination, a visual signaling-device movable into and out of operative position, a manually-operable member, and connections between said device and said member including an actuating-lever connected with therSignaling-device, a locking-lever associated with the actuating-lever and adapted normally to lock the latter against movement, and connections, between the locking-lever and the manually-operable member, whereby the locking-lever may be moved first to unlock the actuating-lever, and then to swing the actuating-lever and move the signalingdevice.

OSCAR MENRAD. ALFRED E. WITTIG.

FARNUM F. Donsnr, D. Gunner, 

